Career mentoring
Careers can be complex. Whether you stay in research and collaborate with external partners, or you go directly to work outside the university after you graduate, mentoring is a powerful way to help you reflect on your career path.
Mentoring is a way for you to develop your strengths, widen your professional networks and take full advantage of your potential.
To support you, the Graduate Research School (GRS) coordinates mentoring pathways for La Trobe graduate researchers
These opportunities are available to full-time and part-time, domestic and international graduate researchers.
IMNIS – Industry Mentoring Network in STEM
This program is offered in collaboration with IMNIS – Industry Mentoring Network in STEM. It is open only to candidates in the STEM sector.
This program involves the following features:
- being matched with a mentor in the STEM sector
- meeting your mentor one hour each month over 12 months
- attending peer mentoring sessions and other events throughout the course of the program.
Mentoring is a voluntary activity, and mentors act in their personal capacity.
Eligibility criteria
You may be eligible for career mentoring if:
- you are a candidate in a STEM discipline
- you are enrolled in your second year of your PhD (FTE)
- you are open-minded and keen to commit to learning alongside someone
- you are prepared to commit to meeting your mentor 1 hour per month for 12 months and attend IMNIS events.
How to get involved
The closing date for applications is Monday 22 May at 5.00pm AEST.
In light of my positive experiences and new opportunities I’ve gained through mentoring, I strongly recommend industry mentoring to other PhD students. We can’t expect obtaining our PhD degree and be handed over a job – it’s a competitive market both inside and outside of academia. Industry mentoring provides a unique chance to get to other possible pathways in addition to the academic one.